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ing up." If she sets it down on a flat surface, Ms. Watkins says she feels pain, cramping and spasms. She estimates she has 60% usage of her arm.
All this pain and suffering from tripping over a cord and falling to the floor.
"There are falls every day. It's not carelessness," says Ms. Watkins. "You're always in such a hurry, but you can't always be careful. You
try, but …"
The dangers are always there, she says — the clutter, the cords (equipment and, ahem, extension), the fluid, the need for speed.
"It's like roulette: Am I going to slip or fall today?" she says. "We're in such a hurry. It's move, move, move. You turn a room over and you mop the floor and the floor's soaking wet. Then you're moving equipment in and rushing things out.
"Time doesn't allow us to be careful," she adds. "We go to great lengths for patient safety, but we don't worry about our own safety because we're all hurrying around trying to please the powers that be."
Don't wait for a surgeon or staff member to lie sprawling on the floor before you cover cords or soak up fluid. Fall-proof your ORs now, before there's another casualty. Tomorrow might be too late. OSM
